Every 911 call is recorded, and Pope regularly listens to every Emergency Medical Dispatch system call to make sure care procedures were handled properly.

"That's a major undertaking, especially with new hires," said Rita Howell, operations manager for the 911 center.

Like schools, police departments and other agencies, 911 dispatchers are feeling the effects of a growing community.

When Pope came to the center in 1990, it wasn't unusual for her to work a shift alone.

But Jeff Polczynski, director of communications for Jefferson County, has instituted many changes at the 911 center, including that at least two dispatchers must work each shift.

The 911 center is expected to increase to three dispatchers per shift by this summer and ultimately go to four dispatchers per shift - two to handle fire calls and two to handle police calls, Pope said.

"We're really growing out of the space we have," Pope said of the county's dispatch center, which shares space with the Jefferson County Health Department building along Wiltshire Road.

When Pope looks back over the years in the business, it's emergencies involving children that affect the mother of four the most.

Then there are the calls that take all the self-control in the world to dispatch without breaking into a laugh, she said.

For Pope, it was trying to explain how a fire started one day in a manure pile.

"Chief Jones at the sheriff's department ribs me about it to this day. We all have these dispatch calls where we want to crawl under the rug with," Pope said.

This is the second year the 911 awards ceremony was held. Last year, dispatchers David Holmes and Lynn Carroll shared the Dispatcher of the Year Award.